Not everyone who works on docs within a workspace will need the same level of access to the docs within it. The ability to set different types of access for different users in a workspace is critical for protecting your information and working effectively with your team. This is why Coda gives you a wide range of roles to choose from for the members of your workspaces.
Overview
To view members in a workspace and their roles, navigate to the Members tab under your workspace name:
Here's a rundown of when to apply different roles for the members of your workspace:
Editor - People with this role won't be able to create docs or folders, but they will be able to make changes to existing docs. Editors will be able to experience all the building blocks of the doc ー creating sections, adding tables, constructing formulas & buttons, adding Packs, setting up automations and more. You'll choose this role for people who need to interact with and contribute to docs as part of their job. In Coda it's FREE to add as many Editors as you'd like in a workspace. If they need Doc Maker superpowers you can upgrade them at any time.
Doc Maker - Workspace members that are given this role have the superpowers of creating and managing docs and folders. Within docs, Doc Makers can administer settings, changing the doc name and icon, adjusting the timezone, applying doc locking, and more. You'll choose this role for people who are leading a team's processes and creating docs to run them. Note that deleting a doc is also restricted to Doc Makers.
Doc Makers also have the ability to be doc owners. To learn about doc ownership, check out this article.Doc Maker (Admin) - The "workspace admin" is a member or members in charge of managing the workspace. They have access to update settings related to the workspace, such as updating the workspace name and adding & removing members. The person who initially creates a workspace is a workspace admin, and other admins can be added or removed as you build out the members list. You'll notice that we refer to this role as Doc Maker (Admin) in the settings - that's because workspace admins must have the capabilities as a doc maker and you will be charged for them just as you would for a regular doc maker.
Organization admin - Organization settings & org admins are included in Enterprise plans only. When granted this role, you have the ability to monitor, control, and set permissions for all workspaces in their organization. To learn more about org admin abilities, check out this article. Note that org admins are assigned separately from workspace membership, so they can have any role in a workspace that's part of the organization they manage.
Quick note: If you’re wanting to learn more about managing Doc Makers, check out this article.
Members and Roles FAQs
Do all members cost the same?
Coda uses a unique "maker billing" model. Often there’ll be one person who creates a doc, others who edit, and some who simply observe from afar, yet most pricing models charge for all those different types of users equally. At Coda, we only charge for each Doc Maker in a workspace. For more information, see our pricing FAQs.
What happens if I downgrade a Doc Maker to an Editor or I remove them from the workspace?
When you downgrade or remove a doc maker from a workspace, all the docs where the user is the doc owner will become read-only. You can check who the doc owner is in the sharing dialog of the doc (Click Share and expand the Get Link section). The doc owner who is now an Editor will need to change it to another member of the workspace that has the role of Doc Maker by following these instructions from Transfer Coda docs to a new Owner. They can also delete the read-only doc as owner.
How can I see the non-workspace members that have access to docs in my workspace?
Check out the sharing dialog of the doc itself. Although you will not see exactly who is a guest, it does have the complete list of people who have access to the doc, which include people outside of your workspace and if they have the ability to edit, view, or comment. If you're an org admin in an enterprise workspace,
Can I give edit or view access to people outside my workspace?
Yes! Whenever you share a doc for editing with someone outside of your workspace, they will be added to the doc but not to your workspace. These external users can edit or view individual docs shared with them, but cannot browse the doc's workspace or folder so you can control what they see.
What happens when I publicly share my doc?
If you share your doc via the link option, any editors or viewers will still be counted as free. Learn more about link sharing.
Why do I see someone in my workspace that is no longer with the company?
If there is a doc in your workspace that has an owner that is no longer in the company, you may see their name appear in the workspace membership list. If you remove this person, then their docs become read only until ownership of the doc is changed.